Harry Delamere Barter Dansey (1 November 1920 – 6 November 1979) was a New Zealand

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

journalist,

cartoonist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comic book illustrators in that they produce both the literary and ...

, writer, broadcaster, local politician, and

race relations conciliator The Human Rights Commission (Māori: ''Te Kāhui Tika Tangata'') is the national human rights institution (NHRI) for New Zealand. It operates as an independent Crown entity, and is independent from direction by the Cabinet. Legislation and funct ...

Early life

Harry Dansey was born in

Greenlane Greenlane is a central isthmus suburb in Auckland, New Zealand. It is bounded by Epsom to the west, Newmarket to the north, Remuera to the east and One Tree Hill to the south. The Greenlane shops are situated at the intersection of Great Sout ...

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

, New Zealand, to Harry Delamere Dansey, a civil engineer, and his wife Winifred Patience Dansey (née Barter). He was of Ngāti Rauhoto of

Ngāti Tūwharetoa Ngāti Tūwharetoa is an iwi descended from Ngātoro-i-rangi, the priest who navigated the Arawa canoe to New Zealand. The Tūwharetoa region extends from Te Awa o te Atua (Tarawera River) at Matatā across the central plateau of the North Isla ...

and Tuhourangi of

Te Arawa Te Arawa is a confederation of Māori iwi and hapu (tribes and sub-tribes) of New Zealand who trace their ancestry to the Arawa migration canoe (''waka'').Ngāti Raukawa Ngāti Raukawa is a Māori iwi with traditional bases in the Waikato, Taupo and Manawatu/Horowhenua regions of New Zealand. In 2006, 29,418 Māori registered their affiliation with Ngāti Raukawa. History Early history Ngāti Raukawa reco ...

. Dansey began his education at Remuera Primary School in the Auckland suburb of

Remuera Remuera is an affluent inner city suburb of Auckland, New Zealand. It is located four kilometres southeast of the city centre. Remuera is characterised by many large houses, often Edwardian or mid 20th century. A prime example of a "leafy" sub ...

. His family moved to

Rotorua Rotorua () is a city in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand's North Island. The city lies on the southern shores of Lake Rotorua, from which it takes its name. It is the seat of the Rotorua Lakes District, a territorial authority encompass ...

in 1930, where he completed the rest of his primary education, and then high school from 1934 to 1939. He had a knack for English, and his father instilled in him a love for Māori culture, somewhat influencing his career. He married Te Rina Makarita (Lena Margret) Hikaka on 19 May 1943 at Oeo, near the town of Manaia,

Taranaki Taranaki is a region in the west of New Zealand's North Island. It is named after its main geographical feature, the stratovolcano of Mount Taranaki, also known as Mount Egmont. The main centre is the city of New Plymouth. The New Plymouth Dist ...

. He was a member of the 28th (Māori) Battalion during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

and

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. Dansey often scouted ahead to gather intelligence information to aid the advancement of the Battalion. This required him to sketch landscapes and buildings, which he enjoyed. While in Italy, Dansey was assistant to Corporal Arapeta Awatere. He was discharged from the Army in 1946, reaching the rank of Sergeant.

Journalism career

Dansey first started his journalism career when he completed an apprenticeship with the ''Hawera Star'', before moving on to become editor and part-owner of the ''Rangitikei News''. His family then moved to

New Plymouth New Plymouth ( mi, Ngāmotu) is the major city of the Taranaki region on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is named after the English city of Plymouth, Devon from where the first English settlers to New Plymouth migrated. ...

where he took up a position with the

Taranaki Daily News The ''Taranaki Daily News'' is a daily morning newspaper published in New Plymouth, New Zealand. History The paper was founded as the ''Taranaki News'' on 14 May 1857, by friends of former Taranaki Province Superintendent Charles Brown.J.S. Tu ...

in 1952. From 1956 to 1961 he was their cartoonist and leader writer, one of the few Māori to be an editorial cartoonist. At the ''Taranaki Daily News'' he drew a comic strip with two characters, Tom Tiki (a Māori leprechaun) and his cat Puss. His humour was gentle, he used Māori culture to satirise

Pākehā Pākehā (or Pakeha; ; ) is a Māori term for New Zealanders primarily of European descent. Pākehā is not a legal concept and has no definition under New Zealand law. The term can apply to fair-skinned persons, or to any non-Māori New Ze ...

, and he acknowledge Māori and European cultural influences in New Zealand while having a deep knowledge of Māori culture. He also enjoyed the freedom of freelance journalism and social commentary, contributing to the Māori-aimed magazine ''

Te Ao Hou / The New World ''Te Ao Hou / The New World'' was a quarterly magazine published in New Zealand from 1952 to 1975. It was published by the Māori Affairs Department and printed by Pegasus Press. It was bilingual, with articles in both English and Māori, and c ...

'', and commenting on Māori issues on radio. This led to him and his family moving to Auckland where he earned the position as a writer on Māori and

Pacific Island Collectively called the Pacific Islands, the islands in the Pacific Ocean are further categorized into three major island groups: Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Depending on the context, the term ''Pacific Islands'' may refer to one of se ...

affairs at the

Auckland Star The ''Auckland Star'' was an evening daily newspaper published in Auckland, New Zealand, from 24 March 1870 to 16 August 1991. Survived by its Sunday edition, the ''Sunday Star'', part of its name endures in ''The Sunday Star-Times'', created in ...

. Dansey wrote a full-length play in 1971, ''Te Raukura: the feathers of the albatross'', which first played in 1972 at the Auckland Festival. In the

1974 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1974 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced on 1 January 1974 to celebra ...

, Dansey was appointed a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

, for services to journalism and the community.

Race relations conciliator

Dansey was appointed New Zealand's second Race Relations Conciliator in 1975. This entailed investigating complaints, and mediation. He stressed the need for people to respect other cultures, and he consulted and trained in business, government, legal and professional organisations. He believed that New Zealand would develop its own unique culture, derived from both Māori and European culture. Dansey became a member of the

Human Rights Commission A human rights commission, also known as a human relations commission, is a body set up to investigate, promote or protect human rights. The term may refer to international, national or subnational bodies set up for this purpose, such as nationa ...

in 1978. In 1977, Dansey was awarded the

Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal (french: link=no, Médaille du jubilé d'argent de la reine Elizabeth II) is a commemorative medal created in 1977 to mark the 25th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's accession in 1952. The medal is p ...

Other interests and vocations

Dansey was elected to the

Auckland City Council Auckland City Council was the local government authority for Auckland City, New Zealand, from 1871 to 1 November 2010, when it and Auckland's six other city and district councils were amalgamated to form the Auckland Council. It was an elected b ...

in 1971, serving until 1977. A reserve in Central Auckland was named in his honour, recognising his contribution to the city. As a

medallist A medalist (or medallist) is an artist who designs medals, plaquettes, badges, metal medallions, coins and similar small works in relief in metal. Historically, medalists were typically also involved in producing their designs, and were usually e ...

he designed in 1972 a medallion that was issued by the Pacific Commemorative Society to commemorate 600 years of Māori occupation of Tamaki-Makau-Rau.Hamish MacMaster, New Zealand Commemorative Medals 1941 - 2014 (2nd edition). Published by the Royal Numismatic Society of New Zealand Inc.,

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

2014, p. 73, no. 1972/5. In 1973, he moved to the Department of Māori Affairs to further develop the department's public relations profile. Besides journalism, politics, cartooning and theatre, Dansey became interested in

radio broadcasting Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio ...

, and subsequently became one of station 1ZB's first talkback hosts, and was also a frequency to current affairs programmes.

Later life and death

Dansey retired from his role as race relations conciliator in October 1979, dying a few weeks later. He was survived by his wife, three sons and one daughter. He was buried with his relations at Muruika Cemetery in

Ohinemutu Ohinemutu or Ōhinemutu is a suburb in Rotorua, New Zealand. It includes a living Māori village and the original settlement of Rotorua. Demographics The statistical area of Kuirau, which corresponds to Ohinemutu, covers and had an estimated p ...

Books

Works by Dansey *''How the Māoris came to Aotearoa'' (1947) *''The Māori people'' (1958) *''Cartoons on international affairs'' (1958) *''The New Zealand Māori in colour'' (1963) *''Māori custom today'' (1971) Other works *''How the Māoris came'' – Written by A.W. Reed and illustrated by Dansey

References

External links

View material relating to Harry Dansey on DigitalNZ
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dansey, Harry 1920 births 1979 deaths New Zealand editorial cartoonists People from Auckland New Zealand Māori public servants New Zealand Māori writers New Zealand Māori broadcasters 20th-century New Zealand politicians New Zealand broadcasters Auckland City Councillors New Zealand Members of the Order of the British Empire Ngāti Tūwharetoa people Tuhourangi people New Zealand military personnel of World War II 20th-century New Zealand journalists